


First Meetings, Last Chances

by Elle_Nahiara



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Engagement, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Alternating, made-up mythology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:07:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22037524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elle_Nahiara/pseuds/Elle_Nahiara
Summary: Tsukishima, the future king of the Moon, has been best friends with star fae Yamaguchi Tadashi for twelve years. Ushijima Wakatoshi is looking for a spouse. Yamaguchi just wants to feel special.
Relationships: Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou (mentioned), Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Ushijima Wakatoshi/Yamaguchi Tadashi (temporary)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 159
Collections: Secret Santa Haikyuu 2019





	1. The Moon...

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this while my country's having temperatures over 30°C/86°F. I had forgotten about heat. I'm suffering.

Once upon a time, when Tsukishima had been younger, freer and not the heir to the Moon’s throne because his idiot of a brother eloped with a human, Tsukishima had met a boy with stars on his skin. He’d been roaming around the palace, looking extremely lost, and his eyes seemed to grow big with hope when they spotted Tsukishima.

“Ah, I-” he had said, approaching him quickly. “Sorry, do you know what way the throne room is? I have a message.”

Tsukishima had looked around, confused. There were a lot of servants walking nearby. He was going to ask why he had ignored them in favor of him but he had not known how to word it. “It’s right over there?” he said, pointing towards it even though if his mother saw him pointing he’d be chastised.

The boy had nodded and approached the door and just…. Hung around it, pacing back and forth. Tsukishima had frowned, looking at him.

“You don’t look like a messenger,” he noticed. “Or like anyone who works here. I’ve never seen you before.” He had begun growing suspicious (or as suspicious as one kid could be of another).

The boy was startled at that. “Uh, I just, uh. It’s… well, yes, I’m- I’m kinda. Well, no, but- yeah. I’m… well. Sorry!”

He’d bowed deeply and remained in that position, while Tsukishima stared at him in utter confusion. And a bit of annoyance. He wasn’t used to being confused.

It had taken a good while for the boy to straighten up. His cheeks were burning red and he seemed to be about to cry. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t clear at all.”

“No, you weren’t,” Tsukishima muttered, and the kid looked more like crying. “Wh- What’s your name?” he asked, trying to get him back on track.

“Oh. Uh. Yamaguchi…. Yamaguchi Tadashi,” he said softly, while looking down at his hands. He glanced back at him. “Y-you?”

“Wh-” How did he not know? “I’m… Tsukishima Kei.”

“Tsukis- Like the king?” Yamaguchi had mumbled. Tsukishima suspected he hadn’t realized he was talking aloud.

“Yes, I’m his youngest son.”

“So y-you are…” Yamaguchi looked up, eyes bright and watery, shaking. “A prince?”

Tsukishima looked around, then shrugged. “Well… yes. Why are you as-”

And that was when Yamaguchi had begun tearing up.

It turned out, in the panic that followed, that Yamaguchi’s message was absolutely menial. Just something given to a kid by teenagers who had pretended it was of utmost importance in order to see the small star fae sweat. Cruel, really. But Yamaguchi had dutifully made his way to the Moon Kingdom and tried to deliver the message, only for his anxiety to get the best of him. He’d only approached Tsukishima because he was a fellow kid (even if he was far taller).

When informed of the banality of his task by the Queen, who’d followed the confused and slightly scared voice of her younger son asking what was wrong, Yamaguchi had cried even harder, thinking he would be punished for his behavior towards royalty. And Tsukishima’s mother had quickly done her best to comfort him, talking sweetly to Yamaguchi, reassuring him that they were not strict on who was allowed or not to talk to them.

And then, when the little star fae was sobbing less desperately, Tsukishima was made to show him around, play with him, talk to him. Tsukishima had not liked this initially, but once Yamaguchi stopped being a crybaby, he actually wasn’t terrible. Yamaguchi paid him a lot of attention, said ‘wow’ at the right times, and generally seemed enthusiastic, drawing comparisons between his culture and Tsukishima’s. The prince, who did not have a lot of friends, decided that wasn’t bad and so, as Yamaguchi had approached the star-flight area to take off, Tsukishima had asked -well, witnesses said he had pretty much demanded, but he had _meant_ to ask- for him to show up again.

Yamaguchi had smiled and nodded and left after arranging when he’d be coming over again. Tsukishima thought it was fine. They’d probably quickly get bored or tired of each other as it had happened with other kids his age, and that would be it.

And, waiting for that moment, twelve years passed. Years in which Akiteru decided he would rather not become a King and instead disappeared with some human whom he’d been secretly seeing for who knew how long. Years in which Tsukishima felt the weight of responsibility make him cold and the scope of abandonment make him jaded. His brother, who had so carelessly dumped his whole future on Tsukishima’s shoulders, taught him not to be dependent, not to be fond, not to grow attached.

But it was too late by then, because somewhere between then and that, Yamaguchi had become an essential part of Tsukishima’s life. The (no-longer-so-little) star fae, with a smile like the sun and galaxies on his skin, that followed him everywhere but also dragged him wherever he wanted. If there ever was a place where Tsukishima could feel himself graze the freedom he’d had as a kid, it was when Yamaguchi was chuckling at his jokes, or doubling in laughter, or smiling innocently after making a subtle jab. Then, and only then, could Tsukishima feel like a being with free will and not a mass of political tensions.

And if only it could last. But he’d make do with the time he had...

Which was why, when Yamaguchi had sent in his request to talk to Tsukishima, Tsukishima had immediately agreed.

Well, no. ‘Immediately’ would imply he had done nothing before that, and he had. Because, of course, Tsukishima had taken some time to roll his eyes and think: “As if you had to ask”. But that was something that nobody else had to know. And it had been brief. So in the end it did not matter.

The point was, Yamaguchi had asked to meet and meet they would. So Tsukishima dressed up and headed to the star-flight field as soon as he sent his reply. The time he’d take to get there was enough for the message to get to Yamaguchi, who was especially prone to just zooming in into surface as soon as possible.

Except Tsukishima had to wait, this time. Sure, he did not have to wait a _long_ time, but it felt long either way, because Yamaguchi never made him wait.

And Tsukishima frowned and was about to leave or send a new message when there was the familiar heat that came with a star landing, except the crashing sound was more violent and closer than usual.

“Oh, oh god, ouch,” Yamaguchi gasped, raising from the ground and dusting his clothes. “I’m fine!” he yelled to no one in particular, two thumbs up in the air while his shaky legs barely held him up. “Sorry for the mess.”

“Who are you screaming at?” Tsukishima asked, not walking into the star-flight area because that was as unnecessary as it was dangerous.

“Ah! Tsukki!!” Yamaguchi spoke breathlessly, rushing (on shaky legs) to his side. He was smiling, but Tsukishima knew him well enough to know something was worrying him. The screwed up landing and something in his face told him as much. The usual twinkling in his eyes wasn’t there and Tsukishima felt worried, even though he did not show it.

“Hello,” Tsukishima replied, looking down at his friend, noticing that his hair was a mess. Sure, Yamaguchi usually wasn’t as prim and proper as Tsukishima himself, but he still tried to look somewhat decent. And it wasn’t that he looked _bad_ but he looked like he’d just woken up. Tsukishima caught himself almost reaching out to smooth down his hair.

“Hi.” Yamaguchi replied. His voice did not have that excited brightness to it today. What was wrong with him, Tsukishima wondered.

“You didn’t land very well,” Tsukishima noted, looking away, so his eyes wouldn’t give away the fact he was actually concerned with what was up.

“Uh? Oh! Oh, right! I’m sorry…”

“I’m not angry or anything, just… commenting. Anyway.” He turned around and walked towards the palace. “What do you want to do?”

There was silence. Complete. Not even the sound of Yamaguchi’s steps following him.

Tsukishima turned around to look at Yamaguchi, only to find him staring at the floor, head hanging low.

“Yamaguchi?” He asked, going back to his side.

“There’s… a thing, I have to tell you.”

Now, Tsukishima had and would always describe himself as a rational person. He did not concern himself with hypotheticals that could not be. He did not think too hard about things that didn’t matter. But he was, generally, a pessimistic person, too. When something was so clearly wrong with his best friend, he did make an effort to think of what it could be that had upset him.

Was it him? That was not unlikely. Tsukishima knew he was not a friendly, well-liked person. He was the definition of a royal brat and he had never minded it. Yamaguchi had never seemed to mind either. So why was this happening. Had he said something wrong last time they had seen each other? Insulted him somehow?

Well, that would have been better than what it actually was.


	2. The Earth...

Born out of royalty and an only son, Ushijima Wakatoshi always had known his place in the world. He’d learned the flora and fauna of Earth with attention to detail, and then learned of the creatures outside of the planet. He’d learned to respect those in his care, people under his rule, and others outside of it. Such as the Moon habitants, with their mysterious origins, their double-edged words, their methodological way to go about life: have a son, have another. If something happened to the first, you have the other. Wakatoshi knew that sounded colder than it was, but truly he didn’t care either way. The Moon habitants were expert diplomats, the Moon habitants were snide but not dangerous.

But star fae… now, those he had never understood. They were perhaps the biggest population on the universe but they were strange, solitary, flighty creatures, who somehow had organized themselves in a rather curious way. Not a kingdom, no authority by birthright, but rather multiple councils that gradually condensed each other into less and less numerous councils until they had The Great Council and honestly that was a lot for Wakatoshi to truly grasp, or for any earthling.

Which was why his own advisor suggested, as his twentieth birthday approached, that a wedding was to take place soon. Wakatoshi’s wedding.

“Huh,” Wakatoshi had said. “I wasn’t aware I was engaged.”

“I- You are not yet, your Highness.”

“Then who am I marrying?” he frowned, confused.

“A star fae.”

“Which. They do not have a ruling class.”

His advisor had pinched the bridge of their nose and breathed hard.

“You get to pick, your Highness.”

“I do not have a preference.”

“You will, eventually. Through meeting potential candidates.”

“I do not understand.”

It took awhile to make him understand in the back-and-forth of questions and answers, even though the proposal was simple. Volunteers would come in and he’d narrow it down among them, according to who he liked.

“Rather like a job interview,” Wakatoshi commented. “It’s quite pragmatic. Wouldn’t it be better to just get a diplomat?”

“You do have to marry someone eventually, your Highness. It’s killing two birds with one stone.”

“Why are you killing birds?”

“... It’s a saying, my Lord.”

“Oh.”

The process of selection was a lengthy one. Wakatoshi was exhaustive in his endeavours, each candidate that came to him, he gave at least three chances, before discarding it or deciding to take them into consideration. And truthfully, it was difficult. Wakatoshi had never been the most talkative or conventionally polite person. Maybe that was why his council wished a partner for him, someone who would make his apparently cold behavior thaw, not by whispering advice while standing somewhere to the side, but by guiding him gently by the hand.

Something like that.

The process extended for five years, and the candidates did not stop. The humblest of stars, the brightest of them, any and all within Wakatoshi’s age range. And they all came to him with ambition and sometimes a bragging attitude.

And some were good, and some were bad, and some he liked and some liked him. But it never worked exactly right. Even if everything seemed to fit together, there was always the one thing off. The advisors’ rule, Wakatoshi’s silence, the star’s family. Something.

But every day was a new chance, maybe. Wakatoshi didn’t get discouraged, mainly because he’d never been encouraged in the first place.

And so it happened that, as his twenty-fifth birthday approached, he walked into the date room to find someone new pacing around it.

Wakatoshi observed him silently, waiting to be greeted and not quite realizing that he hadn’t been seen.

So the pacing continued for a good while.

And then the star turned by coincidence. He spotted Wakatoshi and blinked once, twice, thrice.

“I’m sorry!” he yelled suddenly. “I… uh,” he cleared his throat. “I did not see you there.”

“It’s alright. My apologies. I thought you had,” Wakatoshi said, walking in and sitting. “But, in hindsight, it makes sense. I doubt you’ve come here just to pace.”

The other blinked and then laughed lightly. “Well, no, that’d be a waste of both your time and mine.”

“Truly. There are better places to pace around, either way.”

The star looked around the room, which was spacious and ostenationally decorated. “This seems like a good place.”

“I prefer the gardens,” Wakatoshi said. “Not for pacing, just in general.” He waited. “You can sit, unless you wish to continue doing that.”

“Oh? Oh! Right, sorry.” He scrambled to sit across from Wakatoshi.

Wakatoshi nodded a little “So, your name is-”

“Yamaguchi Tadashi, I’m sorry!”

Wakatoshi blinked a bit, then nodded again. “I see. Yamaguchi, then. You know who I am.”

“Well, yes…”

It hadn’t really been a question, but either way, it was good to make sure. “Good. And you know what you are here for.”

Yamaguchi scowled a little, looking down at his hands. “Well, I guess.”

It was a strange reply, unusual. It caught Wakatoshi’s attention. “You guess? Why do you think you’re here for?”

“Well, I- I know that you’re looking…. I know what you’re looking for.”

“Yes. A spouse.”

Yamaguchi seemed taken aback by that, his eyes went to the door quickly.

“You seem taken aback by that,” Wakatoshi noted, this time aloud.

“Ah, well, yeah…”

Wakatoshi blinked. “Did you not know?”

Yamaguchi shook his head a bit. “No, no. I mean, yes. I mean… I… I did know. I _do_ know, it’s just that… well. Mh.” Silence.

“That is not very clear,” Wakatoshi pointed out after it became apparent Yamaguchi would not speak more. This was different, he thought. He was somewhat intrigued by that.

“Ah, right. It’s just… It will sound strange.”

“This whole situation is considerably strange, I would say.”

Yamaguchi looked at him for a moment and then laughed. “I guess so.” He looked down at his hands again. “It’s just hearing it said aloud makes it real.”

Wakatoshi listened and nodded. “I do not understand.”

Yamaguchi looked at him again and chuckled again. “Then why did you n- Anyway, doesn’t matter. It’s just…. I did not expect it. To be here. I thought there’d be some sort of pre-selection and I’d be rejected then.”

“Oh. There’s no pre-selection.”

“I know now.”

Wakatoshi nodded solemnly. “Why did you believe you would be ‘rejected’?”

Yamaguchi opened his mouth and then closed it, seemingly withdrawing again. “Uh.”

“‘Uh’?”

“I… am not the best talker. I mean. I’m not the best at talking.”

“That is true,” Wakatoshi said, and Yamaguchi seemed to recoil. “But, clearly, neither am I. It is fine.”

Yamaguchi pursed his lips and took a deep breath. “I’m also, you know, nothing… too special.”

“In what sense?”

“Well, birth. I’m just… a star. Not a well-known one like Sirius or the Orion family, or Bokuto Koutarou. Then again, I guess Sirius and the Orion family are somewhat out of the age range.”

“Very much so. And Bokuto Koutarou recently-”

“Got married, yes. I went to the wedding.”

Wakatoshi blinked a bit. “You went?”

“Well, yes.”

“To the wedding or the party?”

“I-” Yamaguchi looked at him, confused. “The ceremony? I wanted to go to both but… well-” he shrugged.

“I was not invited to the ceremony. Very few people were. Surprisingly.”

“Well, yes.”

Wakatoshi squinted a little. “You said you are not special yet you were invited to it? That hardly makes sense.”

Yamaguchi laughed awkwardly, as he brushed some hair out of his face. “Ah, well, that. _I_ wasn’t invited to it.”

Wakatoshi scowled. “I do not understand.”

“Ah,” Yamaguchi said, looking up and smiling apologetically. “It’s just… well, I- It’s really not important.”

Wakatoshi blinked. “It’s not, but it seems interesting.”

Yamaguchi sighed. “I have… a friend. He’s… he was invited.”

“A friend?”

“Yes.”

“Who was invited.”

“I said th- I mean, yes.”

“Did he invite you?”

“Yes.”

“As his companion.”

“Yes, he’s friends with Kuroo-san. Well, he wouldn’t want me to say they are friends, but they are.”

Wakatoshi blinked. “Who is this friend?”

Yamaguchi opened his mouth, hesitated. “I’d… rather not say.”

“Why not?”

“Well, I mean… You know.”

“I really do not.”

Yamaguchi pursed his lips. “It just seems wrong?”

Wakatoshi tilted his head. “Why?”

“It seems like I’m using my friendship for him to get ahead.”

“Oh,” he vaguely understood that. After a while, he nodded. “Yet it seems he is special.”

“He is,” Yamaguchi said, immediately, which was certainly different from before. His eyes widened ever so slightly after speaking. “I mean-”

“Still, you chose not to use his name to your advantage.”

Yamaguchi looked up, frowning. “I couldn’t do that. He’s- I mean. I guess people told me to try… this, sort of… because of him? But- Uh, it’s just-”

Wakatoshi sighed a little. “I’m confused.” He frowned. “Won’t you explain?”

Yamaguchi straightened his back for the first time and looked at Wakatoshi in the eye. “I’d rather not. I’m… sorry, if that upsets you. But if you merely want to know who I am associated with, I do not want to be associated with you.”

Wakatoshi glanced back at him, slightly surprised. Yamaguchi, slowly, seemed to realize what he had said and to whom.

“I- I am sorry,” he began, speaking quickly. “I’m sorry, I- that was impolite.”

“You’re wrong.” Wakatoshi said.

“Huh? About it being impolite?”

“No. About you not being special,” Wakatoshi commented, smiling very slightly. Yamaguchi looked at him and his cheeks were tinted red. It was the first moment that Wakatoshi realized he was quite pretty. “Are you free next week?”

And that had been around six months ago. Yamaguchi still had refused to give the name of his friend in that time, although he did speak about him enough that it provided enough material for anyone who was willing to do research to figure out it was Tsukishima Kei.

Wakatoshi, however, was not a man of research, so he remained unaware. And, gradually, he grew less interested in that and more interested in Yamaguchi himself. Truly, Yamaguchi was not especially talented or particularly skillful at talking. But there was something about him that Wakatoshi grew quickly fond of. Maybe it was the fact he was cultured and intelligent, yet didn’t seem to brag about it. Maybe it was the very clumsiness he had when it came to talking, yet his earnest attempts at continuing to do so. Altogether, he was genuine yet gentle, which Wakatoshi felt meshed well with his own harsh honesty.

And overall, he liked Yamaguchi. The star seemed to be very tolerant of Wakatoshi’s stranger traits, like his inability to comprehend idiomatic expressions or his accidental disregard for others’ feelings.

So after consulting it with his advisors, he invited him over and announced him that he was willing to marry him.

And Yamaguchi grew pale.

“Are you alright?” Wakatoshi had asked him, and Yamaguchi had looked at him with big bright, scared eyes.

“I… had forgotten about that.”

“You forgot?”

“Y-yes.”

“Huh.” He paused. “Must I take that as a rejection?”

“I…” Yamaguchi looked around, as if he was disoriented. “I don’t know.”

Wakatoshi nodded. “That is quite alright. You should figure it out.”

Yamaguchi nodded as well, slowly, not looking at him. “I’ll… go then?”

“If that is what you want.”

“Okay.” He started moving away.

“Yamaguchi.”

“Hm?”

“There is something else, I almost forgot. Also, the star-flight area is the opposite way.”

“Oh, right, right. Tell me, then.”

Wakatoshi nodded and waited until Yamaguchi walked back towards him. He did not. So he just talked with the distance within them. “Star faes are known to be quite… reluctant to stay put in one place, are they not?”

“Yes… but-”

“I very much doubt you are like that. You are a loyal person, Yamaguchi. But my advisors have decided it is a requirement.”

Yamaguchi blinked. “Sorry, what is a requirement?”

“Your flight.”

“What?”

“You must give away your ability to fly from planet to planet.”

Yamaguchi’s face grew even more scared. “That’s… that’s not something you can just _say now._ ”

“My apologies. I do not agree with it so I suppose I blocked it out.”

Yamaguchi merely stared. “I… _really_ have to talk to Tsukki,” he muttered, probably unaware that he was talking aloud.

Wakatoshi frowned, confused. “Who’s that?”

“That’s… oh god. That’s… my friend. Tsukki. Tsukishima Kei.”

Wakatoshi’s eyebrows shot up. A mystery solved so effortlessly. “The Moon Heir?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

“Mhm.”

There was silence.

“I did not know he had friends,” Wakatoshi commented, which made Yamaguchi laugh, nervous yet honest.

“He is quite reserved, but so are you, you know.”

Wakatoshi looked at him, squinting a bit. Something… seemed important. “That is true.” he paused. “What does he think of what you’re doing.”

Yamaguchi blinked. “He doesn’t know.”

“Oh, I see.” He pondered upon that. “You do not usually hide information.”

“I hid his identity from you.”

“And you had very good reasons to do so, so… why did you hide this from him?”

“As I said, I… forgot.”

“Is this like me blocking out the requirement I disagree with?”

“W-what?” Yamaguchi seemed hurt, but Wakatoshi knew him enough by know to know if he had been unbearably uncomfortable, he would have stopped him. “I…”

“You don’t love me, I know that much. Maybe you will, eventually.”

“I-”

“And I don’t love you, either. Not yet. I think I could.”

“...”

Wakatoshi looked at him. “But do you hate me, Yamaguchi.”

“No!” And that was immediate and honest.

“Then why is this so conflicting to you?”

Yamaguchi frowned and sighed. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Probably.”

And Yamaguchi laughed at that, fondly. “But not to you?”

“You have gotten to know me well.”

Yamaguchi nodded, slowly and then sighed. “Are we friends?”

“I offered to marry you, so yes, I’d like to think so.”

The other pursed his lips and then sighed. “Then can I tell you a secret?”

“Yes.”

The words that came next were surprisingly unsurprising. “I’m in love with him.”

Wakatoshi nodded after a brief moment. “Is he in love with you?”

“No,” Yamaguchi said, voice soft.

“Why not?”

He was frowned at in confusion, but he didn’t take back his question. Yamaguchi took a while to reply. “I don’t think he could allow himself to love. Even if he could, he would not fall for me.”

“Why not?” Wakatoshi repeated.

Yamaguchi pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m not special.”

“Has he told you that?”

“No, but-”

“Oh, good. Well, offer still stands.”

Yamaguchi blinked at him. “What? You mean-?”

“If he will not love you, then why not be with someone who might. I do not mind. I enjoy your company.”

“Oh, oka-”

“And without your flight, you will not be able to see him much. They say distance makes the heart grow yonder.”

“... It’s ‘fonder’. The… the opposite.”

“Oh.” Wakatoshi blinked. “Well, regardless, you know what I mean.”

“Right… I’ll- I’ll let you know when I’ve…”

“Yes, of course.”

And with that, Yamaguchi left.

It was not a shock to find out Yamaguchi had paced around then gone to the Moon to visit Tsukishima.

It _was_ a shock, however, that he found this out when the Moon Heir had all but barged into his chambers. Well, he had not run into them. Tsukishima Kei seemed the time of person who’d never bother running for anything. But he had shown up uninvited and demanded a private talk with Wakatoshi.

Wakatoshi, of course, had agreed, because it was the diplomatic thing to do.

“So…” Tsukishima had said, pacing slowly around the room, trying to mask it by looking at the decorations.”

It reminded Wakatoshi of Yamaguchi. He wondered if this was something they shared, specifically, or if it was something about space.

“You may take a seat.”

“I am aware, I simply do not want it,” Tsukishima replied, very quickly.

“Why not. You will be more comfortable.”

“I am not comfortable with comfort.”

“I do not understand that.” Wakatoshi said, expecting an explanation, but Tsukishima merely frowned at him. He insisted: “I would like to know why you are not comfortable with sitting down.”

“And I would like you to not be courting my best friend.”

Wakatoshi frowned, more confused. That didn’t seem to be linked. “I am not courting him, I merely asked him to marry him.”

Tsukishima’s face contorted into a mask of something that was clearly disgust. “Why did you.”

“Well, he offered himself.”

The disgust only grew in the Prince’s face. “He offered because people thought he had a chance and he can’t say no to people, especially to you.”

“He can say no.”

“Oh, can he? To a king? And you won’t spite him for it, sure.”

“I will not,” Wakatoshi replied, calmly and honestly. “I do like him, but if it’s not him, it will be someone else.”

Now, Wakatoshi had often been compared to the Moon heir. He had been told that although he was not as prone to showing off his wit -probably because he had no wit- as Tsukishima, he did have more ‘potential to be intense’.

Wakatoshi had never understood it. And he was all the more confused when Tsukishima glared at him with what could only be called intense anger. Cold, but nonetheless piercing.

Well, it would have been piercing if Wakatoshi had cared. He did not, really. He just wanted to understand the reason behind that apparently unusual fury.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“I did not look at you in any way,” Tsukishima replied, and certainly, the fury seemed to be gone, replaced by a mask of uncaring apathy. “Why would I look at you in any way?”

“I do not know, which is why I asked.”

“Well, it seems we are both ignorant.” Tsukishima said, now pointedly staring anywhere but at Wakatoshi.

“Oh, well. What did you want to talk about?”

“Why do you think I want to talk about anything.”

“You showed up on Earth. You rarely do that.”

“...”

“So?”

There was a tense silence. “Why are you taking his flight?”

“I was told it was the smartest option. Humans do not quite trust that.”

“You are saying you don’t trust _Yamaguchi Tadashi,_ whose name literally means loyalty.”

“I’m not a cow and you are not a firefly,” Wakatoshi said. “Names do not mean much.”

Tsukishima scoffed. “You don’t know him, then.”

“I’ve known him long enough to know he will not run, but I also know my advisors long enough to know they will not budge on this matter.”

“Choose someone else, then. Someone who’s willing.”

“Is he unwilling?”

“Yes.”

Wakatoshi nodded. “Then he should tell me himself.”

“He won’t. He hates you.”

For all his fame, Tsukishima seemed spiteful and a bad liar.

“He should tell me that too.”

Tsukishima pursed his lips. “Why him? Is it because he’s my friend?”

“He did not tell me about -”

“Yes, I know that, but you must have known. It’s not exactly a secret friendship.”

“I do not care enough about you to find that out,” Wakatoshi said, not with the intention of hurting him, but just to make it clear.

Tsukishima remained quiet for a bit. “Then why? There are so many like him. There are hundreds, thousands, millions…”

Wakatoshi looked at him. “Are there?”

“Yes.”

“So he’s nothing special.”

“No.” Tsukishima said, frowning.

Wakatoshi nodded at him. “You seem like a terrible friend.”

Tsukishima pursed his lips all the more. It was surprising he could still talk like that. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Because I do not care.”

“You made that quite clear, yes.”

“But I care about Yamaguchi.”

Tsukishima’s face hardened all the more. “Do you?”

“Yes. And I know he thinks he isn’t special.”

“Wh-”

“Now I know why.”

The words slowly seemed to settle on Tsukishima’s mind, making him widen his eyes for a moment.

“I did not mean-” Tsukishima muttered, now strangely quiet.

“You said what you said.”

“I meant to you.”

“Hm?”

A beat, before Tsukishima mumbled again. “He’s not special to you.”

Wakatoshi frowned, confused again, right when he had thought he understood the situation.

“Or is he?” Tsukishima asked, after a moment of silence.

“He is somewhat different. I’m fond of him.”

“You make him sound like a dog. Is he _special_? Does he make you smile?”

“He can be funny.”

Tsukishima frowned, his lips twitching. “That’s not what I mean,” he muttered, looking away.

“Then what do you mean.”

“It is unimportant.”

And maybe some people would have let it go, but this was not one of these people. Wakatoshi pointed the obvious: “It is not if you asked it.”

“... I mean does _he_ make you smile. Not his jokes or when he bites his tongue. Not his nervous attitude, not his actions. _Him.”_

“I don’t think so, no.”

Tsukishima scoffed. “So you don’t feel happy when you know he’s coming over?”

“Not particularly.”

“So you don’t feel stupid around him.”

“Not more than normal.”

Tsukishima huffed. “So?”

“So.”

“So he’s replaceable.”

“Somewhat, yes.”

“You are not in love with him, then.”

“No.” Wakatoshi said, squinting at Tsukishima. “Are you?”

Tsukishima looked as if he had been punched. He physically took a few steps back, even further away from Wakatoshi. He looked down at the floor. “No.”

“You don’t love him.”

“No, I- I don’t.”

“And you never will?”

“I- no.”

“Then get out. This is none of your business.”

“R-right.” Tsukishima said. And, for some reason, he listened.


	3. ... and the Sky

It was as simple as saying no. It was as simple as saying yes. One word, one syllable.

If only he could make a decision.

Had it not been for Tsukki, Tadashi would have said yes in a heartbeat. Ushijima was kind, Ushijima was awkward.

Ushijima was similar to Tsukki, though. And yet different. They seemed like two sides of the same stoic cold coin. Tadashi could not decide what shocked him more, their similarities or their differences.

But the fact was he had known Tsukki first. He had known his ups and lows, his childhood, his tears, his disappointments, his fears. And he’d fallen for him, probably irrevocably so.

But he did not love him back and that was that on that. Tadashi had accepted it, simply. And his friends had told him: “You cannot linger forever.”

And Yamaguchi knew this. But to give his flight up, to give the essential power of a star, to not see him again…

It hurt.

“Have you made your decision?” Ushijima asked him after two days.

“No.” And he wrote to Tsukki: “I’m still conflicted on what to do.”

And he did not get an answer.

“Anything?” Hitoka asked him, looking nervously at him, a week later.

“No.” And he wrote to Tsukki: “Can we talk?”

And he did not get an answer.

“Come on man, it’s been a month!” Bokuto yelled, while Kuroo shook his head and tried to tell his husband to calm down.

“I’m aware.” And he wrote to Tsukki: “Please.”

And he got his message returned.

“Two whole months? Tadashi, you gotta…” Shouyou insisted.

“Make up my mind, yes.” And he showed up at the palace.

And he was denied entry.

“Is that so?” Ushijima asked.

“That is so.” And he let the newspapers deliver the message.

And he prepared for his wedding.

Very few stars gave up their flight, but not few enough, since there was a small ceremony around it.

The Last Flight was a private moment, where a star was given time to reflect upon their motives, where a star let himself drift away, mentally and physically, where they came to terms with their future and their past.

Tadashi needed that at the moment.

The departure site and the destination site were left up to him. Of course, his destination was Earth, where he’d comet down to the surface and them commit for a lifetime.

It took him begging, literal begging for the Moon royals to allow him to have his departure there. But it ought to be symbolic, right? And that was where Tadashi felt he, as he was now, had begun.

And it was not that the king and queen were angry, they just thought it was too close, too strange. And their heir had left as soon as he had heard the request, they let him know. And they had been such good friends, what had happened?

Tadashi bowed, tears in his eyes and no words in his mouth, and they finally said yes.

And so the day came, and Tadashi prepared himself for his wedding. His clothes were finely tailored, his hair had been somewhat styled. Even his freckles seemed to have been covered and were not quite as visible.

He left the room in the castle and went to the throne room, to say his final goodbye and thank you to the King and Queen.

And instead, in the throne room, tall as ever, he found Tsukki, looking out of a window into Earth.

Tadashi was confused and scared, but he quickly decided that he needed this.

He closed the door behind him, softly.

“Where are your parents?” He asked.

Tsukki didn’t turn. “Obviously, at your... wedding.”

“Oh, right. That makes sense.” Tadashi muttered, looking down. “And you are not going?”

“Why would I?” Tsukki asked.

“You were invited.”

“As a formality.”

No. Tadashi had requested it specifically, after much debating. “Still, it would be rude not to-”

“I don’t want to. It’s _none of my business_ , after all.”

Tadashi blinked. “Oh, is that so?”

“Yes.”

Tadashi pursed his lips. “We used to be friends, didn’t we?”

Tsukki shrugged one shoulder. “I suppose.”

“You… It was twelve years.”

“Yes, I know how to count.”

“Ah.”

“Ah, yes.” Tsukki kept quiet. “You should leave. It’s almost time.”

“Almost. I can make it.”

“I suppose. I don’t really care.”

“You don’t?”

“Not at all.”

Tadashi felt a knot in his throat. “Then tell it to my face.”

“... No.”

Tadashi sighed, approaching him quietly. “That wasn’t a request.”

“You cannot order me a-” Tadashi grabbed him by the shoulder and made him turn. “-round.”

Tadashi frowned at him. Tsukki’s face was blank, expressionless, utterly distant.

But Yamaguchi looked him in the eye, and he saw his walls. “Why are you hurt?”

Tsukki straightened his back. “I’m not.”

“I know you, Tsukki-”

“That’s a rather inappropriate name, actually, would you mind not using it?”

Tadashi pushed through. “I know that face.”

“Are you done?”

“I remember it.”

“I’m leaving.”

“I’m not like your brother.”

A crack on the wall, however slight. A flash of light in Tsukki’s unfocused eyes.

“I’m not abandoning you.”

Tsukki stayed quiet.

“I waited for your help. _You_ abandoned _me_ and I still don’t know why!”

More silence.

Tadashi’s voice filled with frustration. “Just tell me why!”

Nothing.

“Fine... “ He sighed and let him go with a shove. “I hope one day you feel happy.” He began leaving, and he heard a mumble. And out of foolishness, he turned. “What?”

Tsukki grumbled and tried to seem cold. “I hope one day you feel special.”

Tadashi blinked and then looked away. “I used to, around you.”

He left.

Tadashi went to the star-flight area and looked at the sky which soon he’d be navigating for the last time. And now, it seemed like the best option. Sure, he was aching all over, his chest hurt, he wanted to cry.

But he did not and instead he closed his eyes, breathing in and trying to forget what this place looked like.

Unlike other flights, he did not jump up to take off, but rather slowly let himself become weightless, making him float, rise into the air like a backwards feather, going higher and higher.

He needed to let his worries go. He needed to leave Tsukki and the Moon in the past. He needed, he needed so much, he needed to let go, forget.

He fell to the floor and restarted the process, breathing slowly.

Weightless, floating. He needed to carry himself through the tide of life. He had to follow the path that had been written for him instead of the one that he’d wanted to write for himself. He needed to forgive himself, dedicate himself to loving Wakatoshi, to making himself loved.

Maybe he could be that. Maybe he could be loved, special.

He began being lifted into the air, moving slowly upwards. And once he was a meter or so over the ground, he opened his eyes to see the moon drift away and disappear with his memories and-

Why was there something rushing down in the distance?

No. It was nothing.

He kept floating up, twirling slightly in the air.

Why did there seem to be a commotion..

Three meters from the ground, he could have sworn he heard yelling.

His name.

He told himself it was nothing.

Then the yelling had other voices added to it.

And he turned.

“You Highness, you should not-”

“Shut up, unhand me.”

“The star-flight field is dangero-”

“It’s an order!”

Tsukki didn’t sound like Tsukki when he yelled and pushed guards away. He seemed less himself, even, when he clumsily rushed into the field, as if his legs had never run before.

“Yamaguchi!”

In the air, Tadashi looked down at him. The situation was so absurd, so extreme, that he made no connections, realized nothing.

Tsukki stared up at him. “Yamaguchi,” he said breathlessly.

Tadashi merely blinked.

“Can you- don’t leave. At… at least… wait a bit.”

It was a simple request which he should have rejected. But Tadashi saw his extended hand and he took it without thinking, trying to control his fall.

Tsukki tugged a bit on him, speeding up the falling process. He rushed it even more when he held him in his arms as soon as he could.

“Tsukki?” Tadashi said, as his feet touched the ground.

“Just…” He breathed in and out, until that somewhat calmed down.

Tadashi blinked at his friend, who was still holding him close.

Then Tsukki stepped back and ran a hand over Tadashi’s cheek, which made him instantly turn red.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Tadashi muttered.

“Getting rid of whatever it is they put on your face.”

“Wh- what? Why? It was to-”

“Cover up your freckles, I know. Whoever thought that was a good idea is a moron.”

“I-”

“Unless it was your idea, then it’s somewhat fine.”

“It- It wasn’t my idea.”

Tsukki nodded. “Good, because it was the stupidest idea ever.” He stepped back. “Okay. Go.”

“G-go?”

“Yes, don’t you have to get married?”

Tadashi frowned, looking at his friend who was not looking at him. “That’s all?”

“What? Yes.”

“You run all the way here… so my freckles are visible?”

Tsukki hesitated. “Yeah.”

“That’s really dumb, Tsukki.”

Tsukki scoffed. “Well, what do you want? You made your choice and I was an ass, and I’m still one, but I’m not going to… crash your wedding. I’m- I- It’s not like- I-”

“You what?”

Tsukki frowned and looked away. “Nothing.”

Tadashi sighed. “Yeah, okay. Fine. Bye, then Tsukishi-”

“Oh come on, what do you want me to do? Confess like, my love to you or wh-?”

“Is that an option?”

Tsukki stared at him for a moment, at last. His golden eyes seemed to search for an answer in Tadashi’s face. “Do you _want_ it to be?”

Tadashi hesitated for a moment. “What if I say yes.”

Tsukki continued staring, before a very faint, almost mocking smile spread over his face. “Then we’re really stupid.”

“It’s likely.”

Tsukki nodded slowly and reached for Tadashi, stopping, then taking his hand.

“That is all?”

“Again? Yes, Yamaguchi, that is all. For now. You are engaged at the moment and I’m not stupid.”

“Could have fooled me,” Tadashi whispered, after a beat.

“Shut up, Yamaguchi,” Tsukki said, dragging him back to the palace as he made a guard send down a message that there would not be a wedding _yet._ And that certainly, when there was, it _wouldn’t be_ between the Earth King and his childhood best friend. Good luck and thank you.

The moment they got the reply, signed by Wakatoshi’s own left hand, saying merely: “Alright. I wish you happiness,” Tsukki turned to Tadashi, leaning down to softly kiss his lips.

Tadashi blinked and then smiled. “I don’t understand you sometimes. What made you-”

“I wanted you to be you, I guess,” Tsukki huffed. “You didn’t even look like you.”

“Because of the freckles?”

“And you didn’t seem happy, and you didn’t seem nervous, and you… I don’t know. I just… you are good as you are. You- you are, you know,” Tsukki’s face burned and twitched, trying to spit out the words.

“Special?”

“Guess so,” Tsukki said, but he smiled weakly.

“To you?”

“Just generally. It’s just people are stupid and don’t realize it.”

Tadashi rolled his eyes. “Tsukki?”

“Mh?” He answered , looking away.

“I’m not giving up my flight. Not for anyone. Not even for you.”

Tsukki laughed softly. “I wouldn’t want you to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, that's it
> 
> Hope you liked it! I have a WIP drawing for this, which I may or may not finish eventually and post to my twitter (same handle as here). If I do finish it, I'll edit the link in here!
> 
> Thanks for reading this!!!

**Author's Note:**

> A lovely tiktok creator, [h2oh_no](https://www.tiktok.com/@h2oh_no) made tiktoks for this verse! I'm so excited. [Here](https://www.tiktok.com/@h2oh_no/video/6792420433133194501) is one of them, but there's more under #starfaeyams.
> 
> Based on those tiktoks I [drew Yamaguchi on my instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/B-GCx5gpm2X/) (I'll add him to my twitter (@Elle_Nahiara) soon! 
> 
> Hope you like it!!


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